


What If?

by Arizona96



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Character Death, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Mild Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-07-25 22:16:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20033215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arizona96/pseuds/Arizona96
Summary: What if Artemis had made it to the north pole before Wally died?  What if they had a chance to say goodbye?





	What If?

**Author's Note:**

> This story came to me from a picture someone had drawn of a see-through and fading Wally hugging Artemis and I wondered what would have happened if Wally had gotten to see Artemis before disappearing. Again, if you're looking for happy writing, I'm not the person to come to. Constructive comments always appreciated!!!

'Damn him,' she thinks whilst running for the boom tube. 'He's always so damn impulsive.' While it's one of the things that Artemis loves about Wally West, it's also one of the things that irritates her as well. He ran off silently to help his uncle and cousin shut down the activated magnetic field disrupter. No matter how long they'd been out of the life, Wally couldn't help but be a hero. She notes that she's not the only one following the speedster. A group including M'gann and Dick are running just behind her. 'It's freezing,' she thinks absently while following the ice cloud. 'Wish I'd brought thermals.' She and the others round a huge block of ice to see an incredible sight. The disrupter was hovering several feet above the ground, a tornado of wind, cloud, and ice swirling fiercely about it. A second tornado twirling the opposite direction encases the first. Artemis can just make out three red and yellow blurs rushing about the bottom. "Wally," she breathes. They watch in fear and awe as bright flashes of light from inside the tornadoes begin striking the ground. The air around them begins to thicken with tension from the speedsters efforts. Dick's voice from beside her startles her. 'Man, I forgot he does that,' she thinks. "Why is the lightning only hitting one spot?" She looks to where he's pointing. He's right, the icy blue lightning is continuously hitting one spot near the base of the second tornado. Before she can process what that means, the tornadoes explodes; sending air and ice outward in a blinding flash. Artemis flings her arms up in front of her face to shield her eyes. When the light dims, she lowers them to see the three speedsters all bent over breathing hard. Artemis relaxes a fraction. 'He's alright,' she thinks in relief. But that feeling abruptly vanishes when she sees Wally's form flicker. She hears Barry call out, "Kid!" She and Barry both race to Wally's side. She can vaguely hear Barry trying to reassure Wally that he'll be fine and that he'll find a way to fix it. "Wally," she says. He turns sharply to face her, surprised by the worry and naked fear in her voice. "Artemis," he replies. She almost takes a step back at the sound of his voice. It sounds like it's only half there. His limbs begin to flicker in and out like a dying light. She turns to Barry in a panic, "What the hell is wrong with him??" She demands, panic and fear making her normal low voice rise to a high terrified pitch. To her surprise, Bart answers her instead. "He was slower, so his body began to absorb the excess Chrysalis' energy. He...his body can't contain that." "So what happens to him?" she exclaims, getting in Bart's face. He's silent for a moment and when he finally answers her, he won't look her in the eye. "He will cease." "What the fuck does that mean?!?" She screams. "Artemis," Wally's half there voice says from behind her. She turns to face him, tears forming in her blue eyes. His body is still flickering but his face is unchanged, his green eyes almost seeming to shine. The tears starting falling when she sees the look on his face. He's no longer scared, but calm, looking resigned to his fate. "No," she says, crying in earnest now. "No. You can't leave me." He's in front of her in a millisecond, folding her into his arms. She buries her face into his chest, crying harder when she realizes she can see through his body now. One of his arms is clutching her to him, the other is carding through her hair. "It's going to be ok," he whispers to her. For once, Wally is being completely serious. It lets Artemis know that he is very sure about what is about to happen. And he's determined to comfort her. Until the bitter end. "Please don't go," she whispers. "Don't think I have a choice, Beautiful," he whispers back. He buries his face into her neck, plants a kiss there. He raises his head back to face her. Artemis hears a gasp from their audience and looks down to see that Wally's feet have entirely disappeared. She whips her head back up to look desperately at Wally's face. He's smiling sadly, eyes literally glowing. "I think it's my last chance to say it, Beautiful." She shakes her head no in response. It will only make it more real. He places one hand on her face, cupping it. She leans into it. Only his upper chest and above is remaining. "I love you, Artemis." His voice almost breaks with the depth of his emotions. "I.....I love you, Wally West," she chokes out. Only his head is left now. He gives her one last heartbreaking sad smile, and then he's gone. Artemis stares into nothingness, unable to move. She can hear M'gann crying and Kaldur whispering comforting words to her. She can see Barry in her peripherals, staring at the spot that Wally used to be in horror and grief. Her legs refuse to hold her up anymore, and she's collapsing to the cold ground. She sits for a moment and then her emotional walls break. She leans her head back and screams to the sky, letting all of her anger and grief out in one heart wrenching cry. "WHY?!?!?!" She begins to sob uncontrollably. She feels arms go around her, but it doesn't comfort her. She starts fighting the arms holding her, crying and yelling. "Let go! Don't touch me, let go of me!" She feels a pinch in her arm and looks up to see Dick holding a hypodermic needle in his hand. His face is apologetic and his eyes look broken. The world around her starts to turn black and her movements start to slow. "Why did you have to go?" She cries brokenly. "Why did you have to go?" Then the black swallows her up and she thinks no more.


End file.
